MANITOWOC, WI (WTAQ) – The City of Manitowoc is asking residents how it can improve the downtown area.
Mayor Justin Nickels says the creation of a new Downtown Master Plan is meant to help them learn what millennials and other groups want.
“We’re trying to differentiate ourselves from others. One of the greatest assets that we have that not many other communities do is being on the shores of Lake Michigan and the Manitowoc River. We really just want to capitalize on that potential growth.”
Nickels says the city also wants to benefit off potential tourist spending.
“We have the USS Badger that brings in 100,000 people per season right into our downtown, and we really don’t capitalize enough on making sure that those tourists stay in our downtown.”
The mayor notes he has already heard concerns about an inadequate amount of apartments and housing in the downtown area, as well as concerns with pedestrian and biker safety.
Nickels believes the city can make better use of land on the water.
“We’re going to focus on 4-6 underutilized pieces of land that we want to get a market study for, that we want to be able to go out and sell.”
He explains the kinds of questions they want residents to answer.
“What would you like to see downtown? What have you seen in other downtowns that you see as successful.”
Things get underway Wednesday evening, with a Community Kick-Off Event from 5:30-7:30 pm at the Capitol Civic Center. It will include a brief presentation and several stations for residents to share input on the topics of preservation, transportation, and new development.
People can also weigh in and stay current on what’s happening by visiting the official project website.
Nickels says they will collect resident feedback through April and then decide how to proceed.
He notes the city was already hired an outside consultant and will create a steering committee for the project.
Ahead of this process of drawing up a new Downtown Master Plan, Nickels says some efforts have already gotten underway.
He notes the creation of a downtown tax incremental financing district has led to two projects, a $17-million dollar expansion by Briess and a $7-million dollar renovation by Schuette.
The latter leads to commercial use on the first floor and apartments on the second and third floors of a building that has been vacant for roughly 15 years.
Nickels says the combined TIF commitment for the projects is around $2.5-million dollars.
